


Ready, Steady

by Try2CatchMe



Series: Sanctuary 'verse [23]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-14
Updated: 2013-01-14
Packaged: 2017-11-25 11:28:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/638410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Try2CatchMe/pseuds/Try2CatchMe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He could see, hear, and smell every plant, every animal, every bug, and every rustle of the wind. It was like he'd been living with blinders on and earplugs in everyday of his life and had just now had them taken off."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ready, Steady

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, two updates in two days, aren't you lucky?

Being taken as a vessel by Michael was kind of like being grabbed by the molecules and slammed into an asteroid. Or maybe just standing there while the asteroid slammed into you.

With Samandriel, though, it was like warmth being poured inside Adam's skin, and not the bad kind. It was the sort of warmth that had you curling in front of the fire after playing in the snow all day, the sort of warmth that seeped into your hands when you held a cup of tea.

It didn't hurt at all, which was what surprised Adam the most. He didn't feel suffocated inside his own mind, but he could _feel_ Samandriel, the very essence of the angel. He was completely aware of the power, the _Grace_ , thrumming through him, but wasn't overwhelmed by it. Like, somehow, the angel had found a way to reign it in so it wouldn't smother him.

_'Adam?'_ Samandriel's voice was the barest flutter at the back of his mind, _'What's wrong?'_

"Nothing," The air didn't even feel cold anymore. Adam clenched and unclenched his hands, looking down at fingers that _should_ have been cold, but weren't. And the things he could _see_... "Nothing's wrong."

_'Alfie said when humans cry, it's because they're hurting.'_

He hadn't even noticed he was crying, but when he lifted a hand to brush under his eyes, it came away wet. He let out a breath, smiling without meaning to.

"Not tonight," but that comment did bring him back to the matter at hand. He shoved his hands in his pockets, shifting his shoulders, which now felt warm and heavy, exactly as Alfie had described, but without the ache he'd mentioned, and began walking back to the road, "So how are we going to find him?"

_'I can sense him, somewhat. I know his direction, but I can hardly say for certain what we will face.'_

Adam swung into the cab of his truck, "Can you zap us there?"

_'I could, but should I utilize my Grace, it will make it far easier to find me. Currently, the marks on your ribs are keeping me hidden, but they will not hide any power I put out intentionally. Once we find Alfie, we will have a very small window of time in which to act before we are found.'_

"Okay, just tell me what direction to drive."

_'You seem very... calm.'_

He was. He really, really was. Despite the situation, Adam felt very, fantastically good. He wasn't sure if it was the whole Grace thing or just being so close to Samandriel, but he felt whole for the first time in centuries.

The phantom feeling that had been unfurling in his chest for the last few minutes he could now identify as safety. It had been a long time since he'd last felt that one.

"Maybe. But I'll freak out later, I'm sure. For now, let's go get Alfie."

It was at once harder and easier to drive with an angel riding shotgun. Easier, because everything seemed easier. Harder, because he could feel _everything_ and it was difficult to concentrate.

But he remembered something Samandriel had said a few minutes ago that cut through his buzz rather sharply.

"You said we were going to have a very small window of time in which to act before the other angels find you... what happens after that?"

The angel was quiet for a few seconds, but when he spoke, his voice was firm.

_'After that, I leave and you run. We hope they chase me and not you.'_

Adam squeezed the steering wheel as hard as he could so he wouldn't start yelling, "No. Don't you go running off again."

_'Adam-'_

"No. Just... just don't. Please."

There were ten more miles of pavement behind them before Samandriel spoke again.

_'I don't want to go. But I will not have my brothers deciding you are an acceptable sacrifice to be made in their quest for information. I will not risk you, or Alfie, for such a thing.'_

"Well how about you slap some of those sigils on Alfie's ribs and just jump back into him?"

More silence.

_'I will... consider it.'_

His tone of voice indicated that he probably wouldn't be considering it, but at this point, Adam would take what he could get.

He wasn't sure how long they drove, but it couldn't have been more than an hour before Samandriel told him to pull over.

_'He's close. We can't announce our presence with the car.'_

Angel on board or not, Adam made sure he had extra ammo and as many knives as he could reasonably carry before leaving the relatively safety of his truck.

He wasn't sure where they were, he honestly couldn't see anything but trees, but he trusted Samandriel. "Which way?"

The angel led him through the woods, which was good because it would have been really easy for Adam to get distracted. Night-vision didn't even begin to describe it. Even at high noon on a perfectly clear day, he wouldn't have been able to make out what he now clearly saw.

He could see, hear, and smell every plant, every animal, every bug, and every rustle of the wind. It was like he'd been living with blinders on and earplugs in everyday of his life and had just now had them taken off.

It was no wonder Alfie had woken up and panicked. It must have felt like he'd gone blind and deaf.

That was when they stumbled upon the house.

When he said 'stumbled upon', he meant it almost literally. He nearly ran into a wall overrun with ivy and covered in chalk markings that, with Samandriel on board, he could recognize as Enochian.

_'He's blocked this place from angelic sight.'_

That explained why he hadn't been able to see it until he was two inches away.

"So it's definitely Crowley, then?" he whispered, listening hard for anything coming their way.

_'Almost certainly. I won't be able to tell until I break the wards.'_

"And how do you plan to do that?"

_'I'll break the wall.'_

"Of course you will." Adam took a deep breath, coming to terms with the fact that he was about to lose control of his body.

_'Adam, I must ask something of you.'_

Oh God, not again. What now, what else could he possibly give?

_'I wouldn't ask it of you unless I thought I must.'_

Oh, right. Samandriel was in his head and _could read his mind_.

"What is it?"

_'If Crowley is inside, especially with an entourage, I will be no match for him. He's the King of Hell. You carry a piece of archangelic Grace inside your soul.'_

"... You wanna tap into that like a battery?"

_'Yes. It will only work if you allow it to. It's holding back your memories from Hell. It will... regenerate after a time, it is as much a part of you now as it ever was a part of Michael, it will not disappear should it be used.'_

"But...?"

_'... but it will likely be... unpleasant for a time.'_

He figured Samandriel was probably low-balling him, but the angel probably considered it tactful rather than dishonest, because that was just the way he was.

But if it would get Alfie back and turn the demon who'd tortured Samandriel into a crispy critter...

"Yeah, do whatever you need to do."

_'I will only use it as a last resort.'_

"I believe you."

Adam took one more breath and when he let it out, Samandriel was in control.

It was surprisingly not invasive, that. Sure, he stopped being able to feel things, but he could still see and hear, like he was watching a movie through the main character's eyes.

The absence of feeling was indescribable, but he figured that, as long as he relaxed and didn't think too hard about it, he could refrain from panicking.

Samandriel filled his lungs, flexed his hands, and shifted his weight, like he was settling into Adam's skin.

Then he breathed and Adam could _feel_ Grace crackle in the air around them.

Samandriel lifted one leg and brought it down, hard, on the frozen ground.

It shook, trees cracked around them, but before them the stone wall split, fissures spider-webbing throughout every single stone and every mark thereon.

They were hit by a wall of demonic energy and, for the first time since joining with the angel, Adam felt fear.

But Samandriel, Samandriel was just exuding confidence. Like to him, there was no doubt of their victory. He was scared too, scared of facing Crowley, but he wasn't afraid that they would fail.

"Ready?" The angel asked.

_'As I'll ever be.'_

Then Samandriel stepped over the rubble of the wall, into the compound, and all Hell broke loose.


End file.
